and his no tax hike pledge. plus, rebellion continues in egypt. a meth lab on wheels? cheerleaders for a cause. and the biggest power ball jackpot ever. >> this is "early today" for monday, november 26th, 2012. >> good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. say what you will about the state of the economy, but americans didn't hold back on what turned out to be a record-breaking holiday weekend for retailers. and it's not over yet. cyber monday is officially in full swing and experts predict today will be the biggest online shopping day of the year to the tune of $1.5 billion. nbc's kristen dahlgren has more. >> reporter: from the moment doors opened thursday, before the thanksgiving dishes were even done, almost a quarter billion shoppers will have been online or in stores. >> i just prepare, put my speakers on and go for it. >> reporter: shopping started earlier than ever, and in spite

of the employee protests, the early opening paid off. according to the national retail federation, more than 35 million shopped on thanksgiving, six million more than last year. black friday was big, too. 89 million braved the crowds in search of those hard-to-beat bargains, up from 86 million last year. >> the biggest wish list is -- >> uggs. >> reporter: and americans spent more, too. the average shopper spent $423 this weekend, up from $398 last year, for a total of $59.1 billion. it's not just the stores seeing the boom. for the first time, online spending topped $1 billion on black friday, well before so called cyber monday. also expected to break records. >> it's great for me. i don't have to get off the couch. right? we don't have to go anywhere? so easier shopping. >> reporter: but while shoppers were out in force this holiday weekend, no everyone is spending freely. between now and christmas, many shoppers report they'll be more

cautious, concerned about the economy and the gridlock in congress over the fiscal cliff. >> they're going to be pulling back a little because they don't know what to expect for 2013 and they want to remain cautious as we move forward into the next year. >> kristen dahlgren reporting. congress returns to work this weekend, stim facing that so-called fiscal cliff. if a deal can't be reached by january 1st, americans would face half a trillion dollars more than in taxes next year. that's coupled with $100 billion in cuts to domestic and defense spending. since the reagan era, most republicans have pledged not to raise taxes. but as nbc's mike viqueira reports, there are some signs of flexibility on both sides of the aisle. >> reporter: it's a pledge almost all republicans have signed, to oppose tax increases of any kind. that once solid wall was showing cracks. the pledge you saw 18 years ago, 20 years ago was for that congress. the world has changed and the economic situation is different. >> reporter: but republicans insist in return for defying party doctrine, democrats must

agree to changes in social security and medicare. >> i will violate the pledge, long story short, for the good of the country, only if democrats will do entitlement reform. >> reporter: activists on the left are lining up to oppose those reforms, but the president has put them on the table before. during last year's failed talks on a grand bargain and more recently in his first postelection press conference. >> we have to continue to take a serious look at how we reform our entitlements because health care costs continue to be the biggest driver of our deficits. >> reporter: mr. obama has insisted that in any deal, tax rates on the wealthy must rise. but a top democrat signaled openness to the republican stance. revenues can be risen by closing loopholes and deductions. >> they have to go up, real tax rates or effective tax rates. there's ways of doing that. >> reporter: with the clock ticking and markets getting nervous, talks begin again this week amid tentative steps toward common ground.

>> we have to show the world we're adults. the election is over. to overseas now, where egypt, the country's newly elected leader there has granted himself unchecked power. it's sparking days of violent clashes and sent the country's stock market into free fall. nbc's jim maceda joins us live now. good morning to you. >> good morning, lynn. it's a critical day for mohamed morsi, a former leader of the muslim brotherhood which began on thursday when he issued the decree putting all his decisions effectively above the law. he said he was doing that to protect egypt's very slow move towards democracy from the judges and prosecutors mostly hand picked by hosni mubarak who were seen as sabotaging the process. the backlash was huge, was immediate, the past four days with national strikes, a sit-in on tahrir square and on going clashes between pro morsi and anti--morsi camps and the riot

police. so far neither side has backed down. the pressures are growing. egypt's stock market, after losing $5 billion yesterday, has dropped another 5% today. all eyes now are on this meeting between top judges and morsi who it's hoped we'll find some kind of face-saving end to a crisis splitting egypt apart just when it should be sitting down, unified, and working on things like a new constitution. lynn, if there's any reminder of how all this might play out, there's a funeral later today in cairo for the first fatality, a teenage protester shot and killed in a street battle. >> jim maceda in egypt. thanks so much. a tense but much calmer scene along the israeli-gaza border this morning as the cease fire continues to survive. ahumidity barack says he is done with politics and won't run in

the january election. hamas claims damage to gaza tops well over a billion dollars. this weekend, israeli soldiers and palestinian police stood on opposite sides of the fence keeping the peace. an islamic cleric went so far as to call it a sin to break the truce. meanwhile, the palestinian president mahmoud abbas said sunday he is heading to the united nations this week in hopes of achieving a low level state hood status for his people. rebels in syria are claiming an important victory, saying that they now hold one military base in syria. amateur video posted on a social media website showed rocket propelled grenades being fired during an overnight battle as opposition fighters captured a helicopter base, which is near the capital of damascus. and the government bombing of a village near the capital reportedly killed at least eight children while they were just outside playing. now for a look at your monday weather, we check in now to nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> have a wonderful week snend. >> great holiday weekend.

but back to work for a lot of folks. >> unfortunately. >> it happens. >> that's what we do. good morning everyone. it's a little chilly out there. nothing like the super storm san different remember that? we've all seen the damage pictures. this is some of the first video i've seen of when the damage was occurring. this was right before high tide, someone that should have evacuated but didn't in union beach, new jersey. this isn't even the peak water levels. you can see how impressive the waves were and the wind-driven spray. a lot of these houses didn't make it. let's show you what's happening. a little chilly in the inner mountain west. cool in seattle. some of the cold air struck down. windchill at 36. portland at 36. no problems whatsoever in the areas of southern california. no stormy weather today. most of tuesday will be nice, too. and a lot of sunshine. the next storm system is slow moving, well out here in the pacific. this hasn't died in northern

california and aas of oregon. wednesday through friday, looks like a rainy period. could be heavy in areas of northern california. enjoy the dry weather and sunshine while it lasts. a nice day in many of the areas of the west. now here is a l 80s. it looks like a very wet and soggy end of the week. not bad for now. >> bill, thank you. evidence overlooked in the casey anthony murder trial. an alleged shoplifter dies in the hands of walmart workers. tumble into the record books. you're watching "early today."

here are some of the stories making news on this monday morning. smoke filled the air above the garment district in bangladesh

for the second time in as many days. no reports of injuries from today's please. at least 112 people killed and 100 injured when a garment factory went up in flames saturday night. the cause is still under investigation. in springfield, massachusetts, fire officials say human error caused the massive explosion that injured 21 people, leveled a strip club and destroyed one building. a gas company worker looking for a leak punctured a hole in a gas line. at a walmart east of atlanta, georgia, a man suspected of shoplifting died yesterday. police say the man was in a physical altercation in the parking lot with two walmart associates who have been suspended and a contract security officer who was let go. a walmart statement said, "no amount of merchandise is worth someone's life. this is truly a sad situation. we're in the process of working with law enforcement." next, authorities in florida confirm that they missed evidence that someone in casey anthony's house did a computer search for the term "foolproof suffocation" on the day her daughter died. casey anthony was acquitted of murder.

the u.s. supreme court will consider a challenge this week to the defense of marriage act. the law was passed in 1996 and bars federal benefits to same-sex couples. and the powerball jackpot for wednesday has grown to a record $425 million. and based on sales in 42 states, the total jackpot could go a lot higher. stocks are bound to be fiscal cliff dwellers this week, but this cyber monday could be all about retail and apple could lead the pack. according to ibm's weekend tally, 88% of all black friday tablet shopping was done on an ipad. still have vacation time to burn this year? you're not alone. a new survey found by the end of 2012, american workers will leave an average of 9.2 vacation days unused. that's three more than last year. >> in the wake of the financial crisis, hsbc's chairman has a bold idea to overhaul bankers' tarnished image. he's proposing financiers take an oath of integrity similar to the one sworn by doctors.

according to the so-called christmas price index, the cost of all items in the "12 days" chris carol, that will set you back $107,000, 6% more than in 2011. straight ahead, an oregon man is very lucky to be alive after this accident. plus, a busy day for the national football league. your sports highlights are straight ahead. you're watching "early today."

stories making news across america. we'll begin with a new orleans fire that torched an entire city block, leaving five families homeless. 100 firefighters battled the raging six-alarm inferno for over an hour before gaining control. in all the blaze destroyed five buildings and left several other structures severely damaged. next to michigan where a police dash cam captured a roadside explosion. the couple inside that minivan escaped unarmed but they have some explaining to do. police believe the blaze has the markings of a meth lab fire. the vehicle is being checked for components used to cook methamphetamines. motorists in oregon had to deal with a different kind of danger on one roadway. a driver was left dangling over an hour after crashing through a guardrail on an overpass. he hung upside down while firefighters secured his truck to a fire track. the driver was later arrested for dui.

a former cheerleader flipped out in a major way. this is enough to make you dizzy. over 20,000 people at the university of texas at el paso cheered as this u.s. army lieutenant performed 49 consecutive backhand springs during halftime at the school's football game. guinness world record officials will have to view the tape, which we sped up there, to determine if walker broke the current record of 35. she doesn't even look dizzy. in sports, sunday night football, giants-packers. new york's eli manning threw for three tvd passes reaching 200 for his career as new york routed green bay 38-10. in miami, the dolphins got a little wet as the field sprinklers turned on during the third quarter. whoops. later, miami tied the game on a 29-yard touchdown pass. as time ran down a dolphins' field goal beat seattle 24-21. in other action, peyton manning of the broncos moved up to second place of all time of 3,000 yards passing or more beating kansas city 17-9. and comeback kid matt ryan

of the falcons notched his 21st career game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, edging tampa bay 24-23. in college football, after beating usc, notre dame stays number one and will play in the national championship game january 7th. they will face either number two alabama or number three georgia, who play for s.e.c. championship saturday. florida and oregon round out the top five. this is great. two indianapolis cheerleaders shave their heads during the colts-bills game in solidarity with head coach chuck pagano who is battling leukemia. overall, the colts have raised more than a quarter of a million dollars for leukemia research. great gesture there. justin bieber called "white trash" for what he wore in a photo while meeting a v.i.p. we'll show it to you. plus, the rolling stones kick off a handful of 50th anniversary concerts. details are next. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend. the next three days there will be changing weather in the west. we'll have a large storm impacting coastal areas. for today, no problems whatsoever. everyone's travels look fairly safe. as we go into tuesday, more of the same. we will see clouds increasing along coastal areas. it's not until wednesday that we'll increase the rain. this has a chance of giving rain everywhere up and down the coast e specially northern california. that's something to not look forward to. >> a good way of putting it.

well, if you weren't shopping, chances are you were going to the movies. over $206 million was brought in over the three-day weekend setting a new thanksgiving record. "breaking dawn: part 2" won again with $43 million, while "skyfall" stayed strong. "lincoln" actually improved 19%. another one we want to see. on friday, the entertainment world lost tv star larry hagman, best known as his role as the villain on "dallas." his co-stars expressed their sadness, with patrick duffy saying he lost one of his greatest friends. hagman was in the middle of filming episodes for season two of tnt's "dallas" when he died. producers say they will most definitely give the character, j.r. ewing, a befitting sendoff. the rolling stones performed for 20,000 fans in london and proved they still know how to rock after 50 years. ♪ i wanna be your lover baby i wannabe your man ♪ >> there you go. when justin bieber met the prime minister this weekend, he looked decidedly casual.

the internet immediately jumped on this picture, calling bieber "white trash" for looking like that during the meeting. the biebs cleared it up, saying they met at a hockey arena where he was rehearsing for a halftime show. which still doesn't explain the fashion choice, but it explains why he was so casual. >> doesn't explain why he can't take the hat off. at least take the hat off, maybe spin it around. >> maybe don't wear overalls. >> the prime minister maybe could have taken his jacket off, maybe met in the middle, compromise. this comes to us from new york city where the government is giving a hand to thousands of new yorkers who had their jobs washed away by hurricane sandy. a federal grant will be used to put 5,000 new yorkers back to work. governor andrew cuomo slated the

funds will allow the state to quickly hire unemployed residents to clean up areas devastated by hurricane sandy. that's one thing a lot of people are not talking about. there's so much cleanup to be done. >> they need people to do it. >> what better people to do it. >> they can't hire a plumber or electrician or any of those things right now. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

if you think it's cold out, this may make you think twice about complaining. more than 200 people warmed up before taking an icy dip in the waters off southeast poland. the tradition sees swimmers aged 6 to 80 dressed up in wigs and

costumes to take the polar plunge. at 39 degrees, some complained the water wasn't even cold enough, since usually it's about 14 degrees in winter. apparently they like pain. >> a congo line. >> "hobbit" fever has reached new heights. a a new zealand airline revealed its largest graphic ever. it features the film's major characters. the application took 40 technicians and weighs as much as an additional passenger. hobbit mania has also taken over other areas of the country with themed markets and hobbit paraphernalia. >> i can't wait for your renew either. you're really excited. >> i really follow this, yeah. i'm a fan. in argentina, it's perfectly acceptable to hang around all day. dozens of dancers have flocked around for a competition in, what else, pole dancing. this is the first year men are eligible to participate.

competitors use street signs and scaffolding to show off their skills along a busy avenue. >> a little more advanced than my class. i'm still in intermediate ate. i graduated. that was fast. i say i got the belt. but they actually take the belt away in pole dancing. >> okay. we will end it there. it is time for a look at some of the stories we'll follow today. demolition will begin today for several homes damaged or destroyed in the deadly explosion in indianapolis. the city ordered 33 homes be demolished. six will come down today. climate change will be at the top of the agenda in qatar for the next two weeks. the meeting comes amid a study that the world's rising greenhouse gas emissions could result in a five to nine degree temperature hike. the u.s. capitol christmas tree is set to arrive today. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc.

tonight be sure to watch "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. finally here is a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. details on prince charles' candid comments on his long wait for the throne. hollywood legend daem julie andrews opens up about playing the role of director in the new musical comedy "the great american mousical." thanks for watching "early today," just the first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

the silent killer almost lives up to its name. see what it was that saved a family of 11 from a deadly dose of carbon monoxide.